The NEJM study puts countries like ours in a bit of a spot. In India, as in several other countries, families of Covid-19 patients have been asked to take hydroxychloroquine as a preventive drug. The ICMR last month extended the use of this drug as prophylaxis after it found through observational studies that the drug did not have much side effect.

Private hospitals in Delhi, which are unable to reserve 20% beds for the treatment of the novel coronavirus patients, will be fully converted into Covid-19 hospitals, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced on Thursday.

The Yogi Adityanath government claims it is on top of the pandemic. UP’s additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi reeled out figures in support of this claim — UP has a low 2.8% test positivity rate, a 2.6% mortality rate and a 60% recovery rate — all better than the national average.

The positivity rate for Covid-19 has doubled in Delhi, remains worryingly high in Maharashtra and is nudging downward in Gujarat, an analysis of two 15-day intervals from May 7 to June 1 for the three states that have recorded a high number of coronavirus cases shows.

Corporate and government offices, which are resuming operations after the two-month lockdown, have been advised by various state-level Pollution Control Boards to take the help of bio-medical waste handlers to dispose-off “disinfectant consumables” and anti-Covid safety gears used by their employees while on duty. This may add to the workload of medi-waste handlers.

Chief medical officer Dr NK Gupta said: “Positive results of plasma therapy are coming out...it will help a lot in treating serious patients. For this, a letter will be written to the government after discussion with the administrative officials. Many people are contacting the Health Dept. for donating plasma.”

With all Covid cases detected so far being totally asymptomatic, SKMCH doctors are more worried about AES as there has been a steady stream of cases since the first death of a three-year old on March 27. So far, 34 cases have been brought to the hospital.

Nearly 700 children aged below 10 have been affected by the novel coronavirus in the city since the outbreak. The good news is that most have recovered with minimum intervention and the fatality rate has been negligible.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre why such hospitals, most of which were given land free of cost or at nominal rates, not be asked to treat coronavirus patients without charge or at reduced cost.

The hospital, with 400 beds in the Covid-19 ward, has been overflowing with patients. Congested corridors and lack of isolated entry/exit points aggravated the condition. A testing centre was set up in the hospital exposing more people to the virus.

India has decided that invasive technique should not be adopted for forensic autopsy in Covid-19 deaths as mortuary staff are exposed to potentially dangerous health risks due to organ fluids and secretions even after taking the highest precautions, say the new Standard Guidelines for Medicolegal autopsy in Covid deaths in India by the ICMR.

President Donald Trump on Monday made the surprising revelation that he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that his own government experts say is not suitable for fighting the novel coronavirus.

Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Pune, Bhopal and Chennai will be among the identified 20 cities, as also others where the testing-to-positive confirmation ratio has been high, which will require specialised treatment considering their density and large slum clusters.

Years from now, when we reflect on this period, Covid-19 will be classed (or at the very least compared) with the biblical plagues. This tiny, invisible virus has shaken the world and exposed the gaps in healthcare systems worldwide. This disease has affected more than 2 million people worldwide and claimed close to 200 thousand lives so far. While governments are doing their best to flatten the curve, many experts say we havent seen the worst yet. Enforced isolation and an incessant tsunami Read more..

Years from now, when we reflect on this period, Covid-19 will be classed (or at the very least compared) with the biblical plagues. This tiny, invisible virus has shaken the world and exposed the gaps in healthcare systems worldwide. This disease has affected more than 2 million people worldwide and claimed close to 200 thousand lives so far. While governments are doing their best to flatten the curve, many experts say we havent seen the worst yet. Enforced isolation and an incessant tsunami Read more..

When the blood reaches these curves, it makes changes to its fluid mechanics and interactions with the vessel wall. In a healthy person, these changes are in harmony with the tortuous microenvironment, but when diseased, these environments could lead to very complex flow conditions that activate proteins and cells that eventually lead to blood clots.